Electrical fittings are commonly used to connect electrical cables to electrical panels or boxes. In recent years, quick connect electrical fittings have become increasingly popular.
Several prior art connectors have been proposed for the attachment of electrical cables or conduits to panels or electrical boxes. Some of these, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,488 to Gretz, include a tubular body with a cavity on the trailing end and a cylindrical-shaped split ring that is inserted into the cavity. The prior art split ring included a plurality of cable gripping tangs extending inwards of the cylindrical ring for securing a cable to the trailing end of the connector. Although the prior art split ring adequately performed the function of gripping a cable, as a result of the multiple tangs, the electrical fitting was mechanically complex and relatively expensive to produce.
An improved quick-connect electrical fitting was disclosed in co-pending commonly owned application Ser. No. 11/707,582, which has been incorporated herein by reference above. The electrical fitting included an improved cable retaining ring having simpler construction than those described in the prior art. The cable retaining ring included a single tang for gripping and holding an inserted cable, and, as a result of the simpler construction of the cable retaining ring, was easier to manufacture and cheaper to produce than prior art internal cable retaining rings. By providing a single tang on the cable retaining ring, the tang is substantially wider than in prior art cable retaining rings having a plurality of cable retaining tangs. The wider cable retaining tang therefore places a much wider cable-gripping surface within the groove of, for example, an armored cable, thereby gripping the cable tighter and improving the strain relief properties of the electrical fitting.
The cable retaining ring of the present invention improves upon the electrical fitting disclosed in Ser. No. 11/707,582 by providing a notched area at the juncture with the cable retaining ring, thereby reducing the width of the single tang at the juncture. The reduced width of the tang at the juncture with the ring allows the tang to flex more easily thereby making it easy for an installer to insert an electrical cable or conduit into the fitting when connecting it to a panel or an electrical box.